The Senate declared Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo’s seat vacant on Wednesday.
The red chamber recommended that the Independent National Electoral Commission hold a by-election to fill the vacancy.
Okpebholo’s seat, which represented Edo Central Senatorial District, became vacant after he was elected and inaugurated as governor in November.
Okpebholo contested for the Senate seat in the Edo Central senatorial district for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and was elected on February 25, 2023. On June 13, 2023, he was sworn into the 10th National Assembly of Nigeria as a Federal Republic of Nigeria senator representing the Edo Central senatorial district.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Okpebholo the victor of the 2024 Edo State gubernatorial election, he was sworn in on the November 12 and serves as the state’s executive governor.
The governor recently received criticism from the public for stumbling over budget calculations when presenting the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly on Tuesday.
A video of the governor’s budget presentation, in which he repeatedly attempts to disclose the budget’s total amount correctly, became popular on social media.